Occupational Therapy Professional Practice 3 PG (8727.3)

Required texts

There are no required texts for this unit.

Recommended Texts

Different practice education placements may have specific recommended texts. The texts listed below contain information that deals with a wide range of practice areas. Students are recommended to read the specific chapters of these books that deal with the practice area in which they will be working.

Brown, T., Bourke-Taylor, H., Isbel, S., Cordier, R., & Gustafson, L. (2021). Occupational therapy in Australia :professional and practice issues (Second edition). Routledge. 

Curtin, M., Adams, J., & Egan, M. (2017). Occupational therapy for people experiencing illness, injury or impairment.  (7th ed.) Elsevier Health Sciences.

Dancza, K. & Rodger, S. (2018) Implementing occupation-centred practice: A practical guide for occupational therapy practice learning. Routledge.

Thew, M. et al. (2011). Role emerging occupational therapy: maximising occupation focused practice. Wiley Blackwell.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Assessements are viewed as a whole, you must pass all assessment items to pass the unit.

Academic integrity

Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.

To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.

Use of Text-Matching Software

The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

Moderation Process

In the case of practice education /clinical placements, fieldwork, or other forms of practicums, moderation processes will be outlined on Canvas.

Learner engagement

This is an industry based placement. The placement is 8 weeks, full time work hours. The number of hours students spend per day at their placement will be determined by the workplace. Students should record approximately 309 hours for this unit.

Some placements may include shift hours and weekend work. See placement options on the canvas site for specific hours for specific work sites.

Inclusion and engagement

Any adaption to the placement outline requires approval from inclusion and engagement and the unit convener prior to placement allocation.

Participation requirements

Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, 100% attendance is expected in all placements. It is expected that students unable to fulfill these participation requirements will inform the Unit Convener as soon as practical in writing (email). Absence from external placement activities must also be reported to the practice educator and Unit Convener as soon as possible. Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in failure of the associated assessment piece. Consideration will be given for illness; however, evidence such as a medical certificate will be required.

Required IT skills

The use of Canvas, Mahara, InPlace, web-based communication systems (such as Team, Webex, Zoom) and library searching skills and word processing skills are necessary for this unit.

We will also be offering online discussion forums during your placements in real time using the Blackboard Collaborate tool and/or Zoom and Microsoft Teams videoconferencing platforms. 

Blackboard Collaborate provides a virtual classroom or meeting room where you can communicate in real time with your lecturer and other students. To participate verbally, rather than just typing, you will need a microphone. For best audio quality we recommend a microphone and speaker headset. For more information and to test your computer, please visit the LearnOnline Student Help and click on the link to Blackboard Collaborate

In-unit costs

Students are required to cover the costs of travelling to and from the placement and associated accommodation costs incurred during the placement. It is expected that over the duration of their course, all students will complete at least one placement in rural, regional, or remote Australia.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves professional practicum and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in this section. Work-place learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Client/patient confidentiality must always be maintained, including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation at all learning activities (lectures, practicals etc. if scheduled – see section 3) for the successful completion of this unit (also see section 6c). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g. timetable clash), it is recommended that you meet with your Course Convener to schedule this unit for a future semester.

The following applies to all practical classes:

1.    Occupational therapy requires manual handling. You must complete the online manual handling training and any further training required for your placement and should use the principles at all times to prevent injury to yourself or your client. If you have any injury that may affect your capacity to perform manual handling skills you are required to notify the unit convener at the commencement of the semester. If you obtain a new injury during the course of the semester that may affect your capacity to perform manual handling skills you are required to notify the unit convener prior to the next practical class. In the event of an injury being obtained during the practice of skills in class you are required to notify the unit convener within 24 hours of the event and complete a UC incident form.

2.    As a therapist, your clothing should not prohibit your movements or present in any way as a safety hazard. Hair should be kept short or tied back off your face, and out of the patient's way. Fingernails should be trimmed, so that the white of the nail cannot be seen when looking at the hand from the palm.

3.    As this is an industry based unit, students will be expected to conform to individual workplace policies and procedures.

In the course of studying occupational therapy, students may be exposed to clinical cases and situations that may be stressful. At UC a free Counselling Service is available for all students. All sessions are confidential. The UC Counselling Service is located in the UC Health and Counselling Centre on Level B in Building 1. For more information please go to https://www.canberra.edu.au/on-campus/health-and-support/medical-counselling

At all times students must be aware of the requirements of patient privacy. This requires respect for privacy for patients during clinical visits and when writing case studies, assignments, writing in clinical records or reflective journals. All written and verbal work (other than medical notes) requires de-identification of patients' details. Specifically:

1.    Pseudonyms should be used for the names of patients and organisations in all academic work.

2.    Identifying information, including demographic information, should be modified in academic work, using terminology such as ‘similar to'.

3.    Students should mark all academic work with sensitive information as ‘in-confidence' in the footer.

4.    Students should develop ‘composite' patients/clients based upon their experiences with several patients or clients in one clinical placement experience if possible. Students should note that this is a ‘composite' and not intended to identify a single person.

5.    Students should use the password-protect function on their word programs to further guard sensitive information.

6.    Students should avoid naming other students in academic work, such as reflective pieces or portfolios.

7.    Students should attend workshops for health science students on how to change information about patients in line with these recommendations.

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